To bake or not to bake...

Since the beginning of social distancing, I’ve been saying to myself, “Today I should bake.” It has even made it on to my to-do list a few times. Yet, I’m not baking. Many years ago, my mother remarked that both my sister and I bake as a stress reliever and she was right for both of us. So when the baking went undone for several days, I asked myself why. I asked, ” In this time of uncertainty, literally living 24/7 with my daughter now that school is online from home and unsure from one day to the next if I will be allowed to walk my dog outside, why am i not baking when I have all this stress?” Well the answer that returned was something like, “Schmuck, don’t you remember what you said about baking a few years back?” Oh yeah, I thought. In effort to stave off eating to much sugar and carbs, I told myself I would only bake for special occasions. Baking is no longer a stress reliever but now an element of celebration. I had already said to my mother that since we are not having of our family seder with a host of family, extended family and friends, we should have a celebration at the end of the pandemic and social distancing. I decided that not only would I bake for this, but I would bake to celebrate seeing friends face to face (who doesn’t like a good chocolate chip cookie?!) and for those who were helpful during this time like the staff and clergy or my synagogue and my local firehouse. Don’t worry when I do bake I’ll be sure to post pictures and recipes. Can’t wait to try a recipe for vegan raspberry orange scones from Veg Magazine!